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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23786953">It's No Mansion in Notting Hill</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/lmeow/pseuds/lmeow'>lmeow</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Schitt's Creek</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>M/M, Moving In Together, and stevie helps!!, patrick is having a breakdown sort of</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 21:53:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,073</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23786953</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/lmeow/pseuds/lmeow</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“David, I’m worried that I made a mistake.”</p><p>“... Patrick, this is the sort of thing you decide <em> before </em>the wedding, you know.”</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Patrick Brewer/David Rose</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>110</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>It's No Mansion in Notting Hill</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>wOW!!!! my first ever schitt's creek fic and it's written the moment after i broke down over the finale!!! i am definitely going to write more of these two because they mean the world to me now and i will not be stopping until i ran out of ideas!! </p><p>i hope you enjoy this!! leave a comment or kudos!!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Patrick thought the most stressful part was finally over and the much less stressful bits were all that’s left to cover, he never would have estimated the extent of how <em> wrong </em> he was going to be. </p><p> </p><p>“This is a nightmare.” Patrick says, voice muffled by his hands whilst they held onto his face in case it suddenly decided to fall off. “A whole goddamn nightmare.” </p><p> </p><p>Slow mornings at the store aren’t to be celebrated or anything, but it definitely gave Patrick the time to de-stress if he ever needed to. Either that or the time to fix some shelves in case David woke up in a terrible mood. He has learned from past experience that a pissy David that sees mismatched items will turn him into a leaking volcano; you just notice how everything is quietly leading to the moment he blows up.</p><p> </p><p>Stevie, who was leaning against the counter with her cup of coffee acting as a means of covering up her huge smirk, softly chuckles at the sound of Patrick’s woes. “That does sound about right considering you’re the husband of David Rose.”</p><p> </p><p>“I dug my own grave and I will happily lie in it, thank you very much.” Patrick replies with just a hint of a sigh as he finally lifts his head and removes his elbows from the counter’s surface, turning one of hand sanitizers facing him towards the store instead like the rest of them. </p><p> </p><p>Stevie proceeds to scoff, now putting down her coffee as she crosses her arms. “So all the complaining you’ve been doing for the past few minutes is <em> not </em>David-related.” </p><p> </p><p>Patrick goes silent and Stevie can’t help but bite down a laugh. “You really thought the wedding was the last of it, didn’t you?”</p><p> </p><p>He groans at Stevie’s teasing tone before sending her a glare for good measure, “It’s not like I <em> didn’t </em> expect it to be hard, okay? We both know how David gets, so I still had some idea how this was going to go.” </p><p> </p><p>“... Let me guess, it was so much wo—”</p><p> </p><p>“<em> But it was so much worse, Stevie! </em> “ Patrick exclaims, one hand coming to grip a bit at his head with an exasperated look painting his face. “He had to make this whole new moodboard for his dream house because the original was either something that looks like the one in ‘ <em> 10 Things I Hate About You’ </em> or a nice mansion in Notting Hill.”</p><p> </p><p>Stevie ends up scrunching her nose at that last part. “There’s mansions in Notting Hill?” She has only seen the movie once and barely even remembers anything else besides the fact it featured a lot of apartment buildings lined up beside each other. Oh, and the fact Hugh Grant’s roommate looked a lot like Roland. There wasn’t a mansion though, right?</p><p> </p><p>Patrick rubs at his temple and slowly nods. “If there wasn’t any, David planned on being the first one.”</p><p> </p><p>Sounds like typical David honestly. The moment he finds out things aren’t going according to how he originally planned it, he spirals into this state where he is just obsessing over fixing it and coming up with a new plan. When he found out his wedding was no longer going the way he wanted it to, Patrick barely got him to put down the fourth bagel he was going to eat. (He still ate it after Patrick left to help Johnny out.)</p><p> </p><p>“Does that mean you guys haven’t moved any furniture into the new house?” Stevie questions, feeling equally parts amused and bad for Patrick. You can practically see his eye bags from the exhaustion. She’s even tempted to give him her coffee since he clearly needs it more. </p><p> </p><p>“We— We have.” Patrick states with a swallow, rubbing the back of his neck as he tries to recall what furniture they have actually moved so far. “We got the dining room set up somehow. That counts for <em> something </em>, right?”</p><p> </p><p>Stevie can’t help but wince slightly in response to the question. The dining room, unfortunately, is the easiest room to fix when it comes to moving in. So it was at least the smallest accomplishment on the list. “Is that… all you guys have done so far? Didn’t you, like, start two days ago?”</p><p> </p><p>It takes a bit of a while for Patrick to reply to that as his eyes just send a dead stare towards the rows of hand sanitizers on the counter, his arms crossed and his Adam’s apple bobbing. It’s as though it was only brought to his attention now that, yes, it <em> has </em> been two days since and all they got done was the dining room. Hell, the dining room chairs still don’t have the cushions David so badly wanted on them. </p><p> </p><p>“Yup.” Patrick finally says before letting out the longest and heaviest sigh that makes Stevie’s face crumple in empathy. “Yeah, that’s all we pretty much did for two days.”</p><p> </p><p>Silence then comes back to overtake the conversation and Stevie can’t shake away this feeling that perhaps Patrick was actually upset over David’s behavior. She always had this assumption that it was impossible to get to that point, but it was starting to look a lot like what’s happening right now.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re not… mad at David, are you?” She finally asks, making Patrick turn his head towards her with both brows raising as they finally rid the creases they were forming. </p><p> </p><p>His expression looked surprised, as though he didn’t even understand why she was asking that in the first place. “Mad at David?” He parrots, trying to see if the question would process better if he said it himself. “I’m not— No, I’m not mad at David. David’s always been like this… <em> and I love that he’s like this! </em> I love how big he dreams, I love how creative he gets, and I love how he can make something amazing out of nothing. I <em> love </em>David, even for all the frustrating bits.”</p><p> </p><p>The fact one can easily trigger Patrick into talking about how much he loves David for everything that he is just goes to show that he really had to fight every fibre of his being to keep his vows short on their wedding day. Stevie suggested he just go with the cheesy song because she knew David would both love it and hate it simultaneously. Don’t worry, David told her the day after that the love took over the hate. </p><p> </p><p>“So you’re actually <em> not </em> annoyed by the fact that this is taking longer than it should <em> because </em>of David?” Stevie follows up, hands going on her hips like they usually do as she gives Patrick a bit of an eyebrow raise that makes him lean back a bit in intimidation. It takes a moment, again, to process the given and eventually he shrugs and says, “I’m annoyed that it’s taking long, not at David.” </p><p> </p><p>Funnily enough, it makes sense. Stevie takes that answer and nods without another word before sipping away her coffee to which she then offers to Patrick right after. He hesitates, like the polite person he is, but eventually takes it after a while with a mouthed word of thanks. </p><p> </p><p>“Where is David anyway? This is literally <em> his </em>store and he’s, like, an hour late.” </p><p> </p><p>Patrick smacks his lips once he got his sip of coffee from Stevie’s cup, gently putting it down and then proceeding to cross his arms with his eyes now trailing over to the door. “He’s still at the apartment. I have no idea if he’s in bed or making a lousy attempt to work the coffee machine while he’s half-asleep before giving up entirely.” His reply makes Stevie chuckle in amusement, thus pulling the same sound out of Patrick as well. But then the grin he has on suddenly falters, head lowering as to stare down at his shoes. “He kinda stayed up late making additions to the moodboard.”</p><p> </p><p>Stevie wasn’t sure what was up with the sudden shift in atmosphere at first, but the longer she stared at Patrick’s forlorn state, the more it started to make sense as she pieced it together. </p><p> </p><p>“Patrick—”</p><p> </p><p>“Patrick, honey, we ran out of coffee and those donuts we bought the other day have somehow disappeared too. Due to that unfortunate tragedy, I ended up having three waffles and a fruit cup at the cafe. I think we can both agree that’s a very valid excuse to be an hour late, don’t you?”</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Speak of the devil and he shall appear. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Patrick and Stevie turn towards the door to find David standing before them with his white sunglasses on and a paper bag which presumably has a takeout muffin. Was it for him or was it for Patrick? Even Patrick himself had no idea. </p><p> </p><p>Cue him releasing a snort before replying, “You were the one who finished the donuts, David.” </p><p> </p><p>David looks shocked despite still having his sunglasses on, his tone only helping in giving it away as well. “Really?” A pause. “Must have been an accident since I can’t remember doing that.” </p><p> </p><p>Stevie’s eyes then roll at the whole exchange she just witnessed, snickering a bit after. “If I showed up an hour late at the motel as often as you do, I think I would have already gotten fired.” she says, causing David to remove his glasses so he can properly send a glare his best friend’s way.</p><p> </p><p>“Then thankfully I don’t work at the motel and I’m not you, so—” He cuts himself off with a quick kiss to Patrick’s lips, patting away at his cheek before giving Stevie a look.</p><p> </p><p>“And thankfully I’m my own boss at work so I can do whatever I want.” She easily retorts, knowing very well it will only piss David off more. </p><p> </p><p>Which it embarrassingly does. “<em> I </em> <b> <em>own</em> </b> <em> this store, Stevie! Your argument is literally useless! </em>“ </p><p> </p><p>She just shrugs and it does not at all help David feel less infuriated, much to her amusement. </p><p> </p><p>“How about this? I’m going to eat this muffin in the backroom and once I’m finished with it, <em> you—” </em> Cue a flimsy hand gesture at Stevie that just makes her lean back a bit. “—better not be here. You have hogged my husband for an hour and I will not have you annoying me for the next.”</p><p> </p><p>Stevie then scoffs, now turning to look directly at Patrick who has been nothing but some armrest for David the entire time. “I’m now starting to see why you just told me I’m <em> better </em> company than David; why I’m your <em> favorite </em> person to talk to. I know I fought you on it earlier because he’s your husband and everything, but it <em> does </em> make sense <em> . </em>”</p><p> </p><p>That causes David’s brows to furrow deep suddenly as Patrick’s own brows raise simultaneously in question. </p><p> </p><p>“<em> What?” </em> David asks loudly as he stares at Stevie, trying to make sure he was hearing this right. He then turns his head to look at Patrick with the same incredulous and angry expression, arms still wrapped around his neck. “ <em> Excuse me? </em>”</p><p> </p><p>Patrick visibly panics, immediately shifting their positions so he can properly face him and hold onto his shoulders in reassurance. It doesn’t change David’s expression though; the one where his bushy brows are just knitted together and his eyes are bulging with his lips in a deep frown. It makes Patrick silently vow to murder Stevie for this someday. “That’s not— That isn’t even what we were talking about, David! She’s lying to turn you against me!” </p><p> </p><p>Stevie was already midway out the door when she waved at them both, an innocent smile on her lips that turned Patrick’s vow into one carved in stone. “See you guys later. I’m late for work.”</p><p> </p><p>Once she was gone and it was just the two newly weds left, silence dangerously weighed them down as David continuously stared daggers into Patrick’s poor baby face. </p><p> </p><p>He chuckles nervously as he stares back with much fear in his eyes. “Well, wasn’t that the funniest—”</p><p> </p><p>“I was going to share this muffin with you when she left, but I don’t think I will anymore.”</p><p> </p><p>Later that day, Stevie sends Patrick a text that reads, <em> “david will understand if u tell him whats up, pat. he would be more pissed if u keep it inside of u like that any longer :/” </em>and it makes him forgive her just this once despite the joke earlier almost causing him a divorce. </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p>“Do you think we can ask Jake for—”</p><p> </p><p>“No.” Patrick immediately says from the bathroom, the answer coming off more muffled than anything due to the toothbrush he had in his mouth. He spits and gargles some water before spitting again to finally answer more clearly. “No, we’re not asking Jake for anything again.”</p><p> </p><p>When Patrick re-emerges from the bathroom, he sees David sitting upright on the bed with his phone in hand, eye masks on, and a notebook on his lap<em> . </em>He was obviously working on the house moodboard right now, but the response he got over his cut off question makes him stop to teasingly grin at his husband. “Why? Worried you’ll get all red again when he compliments you?” </p><p> </p><p>Patrick can’t help but huff at that as he makes his way to his side of the bed, pulling up the comforter to tuck himself in it. “Oh, shut up. He kissed you on the lips right in front of me and you didn’t seem bothered by it at all.”</p><p> </p><p>“Uh, yeah, that’s because Jake <em> always </em>does that when he sees me and I have basically become numb to it at this point.” David responds with a roll of his eyes before going back to his phone. “It’s not because it feels good or whatever.”</p><p> </p><p>Patrick perks up a bit. “It doesn’t?”</p><p> </p><p>David is silent for a moment before he shrugs one shoulder with the tilt of his head. “Well—”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, don’t answer that.”</p><p> </p><p>The obvious bitterness comes to David’s attention and it makes it difficult to suppress the smile that threatened to stretch wider across his face instead of having to limit it to a small side grin. He wanted to tease him some more but that might just lead to making his own coffee tomorrow. Patrick knew how he liked his coffee better than himself and he has yet to figure out how that even happened. </p><p> </p><p>“Anyways, as I was saying— Jake made a pretty good coffee table for the apartment so I thought it would be nice to, y’know, let him make a bigger one for the living room. I don’t think he’ll mind.”</p><p> </p><p>Patrick produces a noise that David assumes is one of agreement. “Well, you have a point there. And obviously he won’t.”</p><p> </p><p>The tone Patrick uses doesn’t sit right in David’s soul, turning his expression into one of genuine confusion as he looks upon his husband who now appears to be reading one of those books he got during their honeymoon. Returning his gaze to his phone, David chooses to ignore it and carries on with the conversation. “I looked up some bedroom designs on Pinterest and made a whole board for my top picks. I need you to help me pick one for our main inspo.” </p><p> </p><p>His husband just shrugs and flips another page on his book. “Anything you want is fine by me, Davi—”</p><p> </p><p>“<em> Oh my god </em>— it was just a joke! Why are you so much more petty about this than you usually are?”</p><p> </p><p>The sudden outburst causes Patrick to instantly lift his head up to look towards David who he now notices has shifted onto his side so that he was facing him better. He had his notebook closed on his thigh with his phone face down atop it, leaving all his attention on Patrick himself. </p><p> </p><p>Despite knowing what this was about, Patrick stupidly goes, “What?” after what seemed like forever.</p><p> </p><p>David groans. “You literally pulled one on me with Stevie earlier! Am I suddenly not allowed to tease you on the same day? <em> Am I not allowed to avenge my dignity here, Patrick?! </em>” </p><p> </p><p>God, Stevie was right. If he continued to keep it in like this, David is eventually going to find out anyways because he’s awful at hiding the fact he’s upset. Either that or David is just that good at figuring out his moods. “Hey, hey, it’s not that!” And there go his hands, straight to cupping David’s face that has now formed a pout. “It’s not that, okay?”</p><p> </p><p>David stares right into Patrick’s eyes without a word of response and Patrick is already tempted to pull him in for a kiss, just to take that upset look on his face. But before he decides to do so, David finally asks, “Then what is it? You’re just as bad at acting as your parents.”</p><p> </p><p>That makes Patrick laugh, his hands letting go of David’s face so he can nervously fiddle with his fingers whilst staring down at them. Thankfully he doesn’t have to see the extremely concerned expression currently taking over David’s face or he might have just chickened out.</p><p> </p><p>“David, I’m worried that I made a mistake.”</p><p> </p><p>“... Patrick, this is the sort of thing you decide <em> before </em>the wedding, you know.”</p><p> </p><p>Okay, maybe he should have gotten straight to the point.</p><p> </p><p>Shifting his attention back to David to assure him that that wasn’t the case, he ends up almost recoiling at the very pained expression he finds on David’s features. <em> He really should have gotten straight to the point.  </em></p><p> </p><p>He proceeds to place his hands on David’s shoulders, rubbing away at them gently as a means of comfort. It helps to an extent; it surely stops the tears glassing over his eyes from trailing down his face. “I’m not talking about getting married to you, David.” Patrick assures, voice soft and full of love in hopes of making the other feel better. “I will never regret marrying you.”</p><p> </p><p>Despite the attempt at smoothing things over, David doesn’t even take a breather before he returns to his former annoyed state. “Then what the hell is it? You’re not making any sense right now and your need to have some sort of introduction page before the actual point isn’t helping.” </p><p> </p><p>Patrick takes his own breather, inhaling sharply before exhaling out every single bit of fear that shook his bones. “It’s just— I feel like I made a mistake in convincing you to stay here with me.” There’s a pause right after and it was Patrick giving way to any reactions David possibly had. David, however, remains unnervingly silent as he stares at the love of his life like what he just said was absolutely insane. </p><p> </p><p>Patrick swallows and decides to continue with his head lowered to avoid further eye contact. “You didn’t plan on staying in a small town like this and neither did you dream of living in a small house like the one we got. Seeing you make this whole new moodboard and throwing out every single plan you had before makes me feel like I ruined your dreams. You're even taking so long to organize everything because you had to change… well, <em> everything. </em>It looks like you’re just making do with what you ended up getting and I just— You probably would have been happier in New York and I made you turn down the opportunity because I can’t handle the change of scenery. I was so confident that I would make you happy here but now I’m not even sure I can do that.” Cue a sniff as his voice cracks a bit. “I’m— I’m sorry, David.”</p><p> </p><p>In all honesty, Patrick had no idea what he was expecting from David after he finished coming clean with what’s going on in his own mind. Hell, he wasn’t even sure if his guess was right or wrong; whether David just agreed to stay for his sake or not. As much as he wanted to figure David out and somehow learn what goes on in his head, he still sort of lacked in that field when it came to being his husband. Was it even a requirement to understand your partner that deeply? Patrick wasn’t sure but he would much rather leave the unravelling of each other’s minds to the journey that lies ahead.</p><p> </p><p>When the silence was almost suffocating him at this point, Patrick finally brought up the courage to look up and face whatever emotion was displaying on David’s face. Funnily enough, there was nothing. His facial expression was blank or maybe even unreadable, but there was definitely nothing that showed that he was upset. So this was possibly a good sign? Hopefully it was.</p><p> </p><p>“David? Say something, please.” Patrick mutters, eyes searching his face for any sign of negativity before wiping a bit at his own eyes. “You’re kinda— You’re kinda killing me over here, babe.”</p><p> </p><p>Just as the last bit is spoken, David, ever the ass, breaks his facade and smirks towards Patrick. “Good. It’s what you deserve for scaring the fuck out of me over all this.” David spat out, his husband sighing in relief as he scoots himself closer after putting away his notebook and phone on the side table. “That’s what you call <em> real </em> acting, by the way.”</p><p> </p><p>Patrick laughs and wraps his arms around David to which he then happily snuggles into. “That is so unfair. You weren’t even expressing anything. What is there for you to possibly act out?”</p><p> </p><p>“Uh, the fact that I am holding in every single emotion despite having the need to laugh at your face is quite literally prime acting skills at its finest.” </p><p> </p><p>David Rose was very mean and Patrick Brewer was one of the nicest people in Schitt’s Creek. The fact that someone like him fell in love with someone like David is still beyond him and the rest of the townsfolk, but they were still somehow perfect for each other all the same. </p><p> </p><p>After a few beats of just silent cuddling, David eventually finds the words he and Patrick were looking for. “I really meant it when I said I would rather be where you wanted to be.” He began, hand going over Patrick’s as he continued to hold him close while he laid his head on his chest. “I mean, it’s true that I really, really, <em> really </em> wanted to go to New York—”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s a lot of really’s—”</p><p> </p><p>Cue David swatting the top of Patrick's hand. “<em> —But someone wise once told me that things change. </em>" He continues, a brief glare sent Patrick's way. “I used to dream of big houses and big cities where I can follow my even bigger dreams.” He then pulls away from the embrace so he could cup his husband’s darling face in his hands and directly look at him with a fond smile. “I was alone in all those dreams, Patrick. It may not be obvious to you, but all my new ones have you in it now. Sure, this house we got is smaller than I thought it would be and it's no mansion in Notting Hill— but do you really think I would rather be anywhere else than here with you?”</p><p> </p><p>Without another word, Patrick takes David’s face into his own hands and pulls him in for a long and lingering kiss that can say so much more than words could ever. After all, words could never describe just how much Patrick loves David. The fact that this man was his and nobody else’s made his heart grow ten times bigger and he wouldn’t trade anything in the world to have him taken away from him.</p><p> </p><p>Once they pulled away, Patrick kept his hands on David’s face and let his thumb gently rub against his scruffy cheek. His eyes maintained direct contact with David’s own and he swears he can see their whole future play out just by staring into them. He really needs to remind himself that David wasn’t forced to stay in Schitt’s Creek. David chose to stay not only for him but for himself as well. This town was a gift to him and it was definitely one that kept on giving.</p><p> </p><p>“I love you, David.” Patrick says, making David chuckle a bit and roll his eyes at the given affection. </p><p> </p><p>“I love you too, dummy. Now pick a bedroom design on this Pinterest board to make it up to me. And we’re visiting Jake tomorrow.”</p><p> </p><p>“... Dammit.”</p>
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